Norway News

Provaris Energy and Norwegian Hydrogen AS have announced a new agreement to jointly progress the identification and development of several sites in the Nordic region for the large-scale production and export of hydrogen to European markets.The projects will utilize locally available renewable energy to produce hydrogen for shipment to European ports. This will assist energy-intensive industries in making an impact on their decarbonization plans and target a scale and level of…

Esgian reports on new contracts for Borr Drilling and Shelf Drilling (North Sea) jackups in its Week 15 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. Additionally, Energean has selected a drillship for its upcoming drilling campaign offshore Morocco. South America remains vital to the floating rig market, with ExxonMobil moving ahead on a sixth development on the prolific Stabroek block offshore Guyana and Petrobras reporting a new discovery in Brazil's Potiguar Basin.Report Outline:ContractsBorr Drilling has announced new contract commitments for three of its premium jackup rigs…

The discharge of scrubber water from ships out to 22km (12 nautical miles) from the Danish coasts will be prohibited by law. The ban will come into effect on July 1, 2025, for ships with scrubbers in open operation, where the wash water is discharged into the sea. For ships with scrubbers in closed operation, the ban on water discharge will take effect on July 1, 2029.The Ministry of Environment has stated that scrubber water has contributed to excessive levels of a number of heavy metals and tar substances such as lead, cadmium, anthracene and benz(a)pyrene in the marine environment.

2024 marks 50 years of ship design work for Kongsberg Maritime. From setting the benchmark that set the standard for offshore supply vessels in the 1970s, to advanced anchor handlers that transformed the oil and gas industry, and a growing reference list in fishery and merchant ships, Kongsberg Maritime’s range of ship designs has continued to evolve over the past five decades.The early 1970s, at the dawn of the offshore oil and gas industry, saw the very first vessels, designed…

Arctia Meritaito, a subsidiary of Finland's Arctia, announced it has been awarded a contract by the Norwegian Mapping Authority to perform hydrographic seabed surveying as part of the 2024 Mareano program.Under its contract from the Norwegian Mapping Authority's Hydrographic Service (NHS), Arctia Meritaito will survey approximately 1,900 square kilometers with multibeam echosounder and sub bottom profiler in potential offshore wind area Sørvest F in the North Sea.The surveys will be conducted by the multipurpose research vessel Pohjanmeri.

Chinese automakers and shippers are ordering a record number of car-carrying vessels to support a boom in EV exports, data showed, putting China on course to amass the world's fourth-largest fleet by 2028.China currently has the world's eighth-largest fleet with 33 car-carrying ships, showed data from shipping consultancy Veson Nautical. Japan has the world's largest with 283 ships, followed by Norway's 102, South Korea's 72 and Isle of Man's 61.But Chinese companies have 47 ships on order, accounting for a quarter of all orders globally.

A newly unveiled concept for a sail-powered catamaran cruise ship aims to offer a luxury cruising experience on board a vessel that can travel emissions free.The unique vessel design--codenamed "Seabreeze"--comes from Norway-based YSA Design, who engineered the 104.5-meter-long ship to feature four 50-meter-high foldable sails mounted on 6-meter-high bases on deck for emissions-free propulsion.“Sustainability is critical but cruise shipping also needs to continuously reinvent itself,” said Trond Sigurdsen, Senior Architect and Partner, YSA Design.

Global Energy Storage (GES) and Provaris Energy have entered a collaboration agreement to develop a gaseous hydrogen import facility at the GES terminal in Rotterdam.Under the collaboration, GES and Provaris will complete a comprehensive prefeasibility study to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of berthing and unloading of Provaris’ H2Neo compressed hydrogen carriers.Activities will also include the joint marketing of the proposed facility where Provaris will be…

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

U.S.-based SEACOR Marine has completed the installation of a hybrid power system on its platform supply vessel (PSV) SEACOR Yangtze.Beginning in February 2024 in Norway, Kongsberg Maritime started the upgrade of the UT771 CDL SEACOR Yangtze with the Deckhouse Energy Storage System.The installation of the system has been completed, SEACOR Marine informed on April 4, 2024, adding to its fleet of hybrid battery-powered PSVs.To remind, SEACOR Marine announced it will convert four other of its PSVs to battery hybrid power in a move to enhance efficiency and slash emissions.The Houston-headquartered

Ship engine manufacturer Wärtsilä expects to deliver its first ammonia-fueled engine on a new vessel in early 2025, with more widespread sales expected in the 2030s, a company executive told Reuters.Ammonia is among several alternative fuels that shippers are exploring to reduce carbon emissions.The company launched its first ammonia four-stroke engine for orders in the fourth quarter last year, with the first such engine to be delivered early next year on a vessel, Roger Holm…

Norway-based Edda Wind on Tuesday announced it has taken delivery of a newly built service operation vessel (SOV) from Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Balenciaga.The vessel, C416—to be renamed Edda Goelo at a later stage—was delivered on March 26. It will be the permanent vessel in the contract with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy at the Saint-Brieuc wind farm in France, running until Q2 2028. C416 is of Salt 0358 design and the sister vessel of Edda Brint, delivered from Astilleros Balenciaga in October 2022.

Esgian reports shifts in demand in its Week 13 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report overview:ContractsADES has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from PTTEP Energy Development Company Limited for an 18-month jackup drilling contract in the Gulf of Thailand. Operations are expected to begin in the second half of 2024, with an unspecified jackup.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesThe Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for an exploration well in…

Compliance, performance, profitability, sustainability; take the biggest ‘pain points’ for almost any shipping company and watch NAVTOR’s digital ecosystem work wonders. Here Tor Svanes, Founder and CEO, explains how NAVTOR has grown to lead the smart shipping world, why the recent merger with Voyager Worldwide was so critical, and how he hopes to help steer the industry towards brighter, simpler, and more intelligent horizons.“The morning of the announcement I got a text from the boss of one of our biggest competitors…

The Swedish Maritime Administration has purchased the 18-year-old icebreaker Polar Circle, expanding its fleet of icebreaking ships to help keep the nation's ports and shipping lanes clear during the cold winter months.In December, the Swedish Maritime Administration put out a tender to acquire a secondhand icebreaker, with Polar Circle emerging as the most suitable option. The agency recently ran the Polar Circle through trials in the Gulf of Bothnia before committing to purchase the vessel."We are delighted to welcome Polar Circle to our fleet.

The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection gave their approval to the construction of the planned ammonia bunkering facility at Fjord Base in Florø, Norway.The planned terminal consists of a floating stationary barge with a capacity of 1,000 cu. m. (650 tons) of ammonia. The permit allows for up to 416 operations annually, many of these expected to be bunkering operations for offshore supply vessels that regularly call at Fjord Base in Florø.The planned terminal is part of Yara Clean Ammonia and Azane’s efforts to make low-emission ammonia a common fuel for shipping.

Esgian reports fresh finds confirmed in Guyana, China and Norway in its Week 12 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDolphin Drilling has announced the award of a $154 million drilling contract from India's exploration and production company, Oil India Limited (Oil India), to the 6,000-ft semisub Blackford Dolphin.Malaysian offshore drilling firm Velesto confirmed Friday it had recently secured long-term contract extensions for three of its jackup rigs with Petronas Carigali…

Norway-based offshore vessel owner Rem Offshore and shipbuilder Myklebust Verft have signed a contract for the construction of an Energy Subsea Construction Vessel (ESCV) with a 250-tonne crane.The vessel will be delivered in 2026 and will be the first of its kind that can perform heavy construction work in both offshore wind and subsea with net zero emissions, according to Rem Offshore.The contract also contains an option to build one more vessel, the company confirmed.The vessel will be equipped with dual-fuel methanol engines in combination with battery packs.

Germany's top utility RWE has signed a Letter of Support with the Port Authority of A Coruña to facilitate the scaling-up of the port capacity in support of the Spanish government’s floating wind targets.Working together under a Letter of Support, the partners will investigate the potential for transforming infrastructure at the Port of Coruña, in northwest Spain, into a logistic hub for the marshalling, assembly and deployment of major components for commercial-scale floating…

Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed a seven-year loan to co-finance ferry operator Norled AS’ investments in zero and low carbon vessels and related land-based infrastructure in Norway during 2024-2030.The InvestEU program supports the loan under NIBs Framework Operation Green Mobility and Transport approved by the Investment Committee.This NOK 500 million (EUR 43.4 million) loan will help Norled finance the extension of its low-carbon fleet. This is NIB’s first InvestEU loan in Norway.Norway is electrifying its transport network at a rapid pace…

Esgian reports that drilling contracts have been announced this week for operations in Brazil and the Philippines, and new discoveries have been confirmed in the UK and Namibia in its Week 11 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsCOSL Drilling has emerged as the winner for Petrobras' moored semisubmersible tender with the 4,600-ft Nanhai 8 (also known as Nan Hai Ba Hao).Noble has secured a high-dayrate drillship contract with Prime Energy in the Philippines.Drilling Activity and…

The European Union, Canada, Japan and climate-vulnerable Pacific Island states are among 47 countries rallying support for a charge on the international shipping sector's greenhouse gas emissions, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.The documents, being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting now entering a second week, outline four proposals with a combined 47 backers for imposing a fee on each tonne of greenhouse gas the industry produces.Support for…

Norwegian davit supplier Vestdavit has notched up a new annual sales record for another consecutive year after seeing its order intake surge by 76% in 2023 on high demand from the offshore wind and oil and gas sectors, as well as increased sales in its core naval market.Vestdavit has expanded its market position in offshore wind after both gaining new customers and winning repeat orders with existing clients, including Esvagt and Rem Offshore, with orders in this sector accounting for more than $9.4 million (NOK 100 million)…